Join us Saturday, July 12, 2014 for an all-day Parkinson's Disease and Parkinsonism Caregiver Symposium, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Fsoster City.

Our 2012 caregiver symposium got great reviews and we aim for even better reviews of our 2014 symposium. All of the 2014 symposium speakers and nearly all of the topics will be different from 2012.

Check-in and continental breakfast (including fresh fruit) begin at 8am. This is a good time to visit exhibitor tables. The program begins at 9am. A delicious lunch will be served at noon. During the hour-long lunch break, you'll also have time to visit exhibitor tables. We will end by 4:15pm.

Who is Invited?

This symposium is for family or friends who
care for someone with Parkinson's Disease, Lewy Body Dementia,
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Multiple System Atrophy, Corticobasal
Degeneration, and related diagnoses such as Parkinson's Plus or atypical parkinsonism.

The word caregiver includes those who partner in caring, give hands-on care, manage someone's care, are concerned about a friend or family member, or provide support to a primary caregiver. Both current and former caregivers are welcome.

A few spaces have been allotted for healthcare professionals. We hope to offer CEUs. Please check back about June 13th.

This event is NOT open to anyone WITH one of those diagnoses (PD, LBD, PSP, MSA, CBD, atypical parkinsonism). The exception is if someone with one of those diagnoses is/was also a caregiver to a person with one of those diagnoses.

Registration is online only. If you need help registering or don't have internet access, three staff members are ready to help. This takes no more than 10 minutes. Please contact Robin Riddle [rriddle]. We will do our best to help, even in the evenings and on weekends.

Great Speakers Lined Up!

General session speakers include three Bay Area movement disorder specialists, Dr. Kathleen Poston and Dr. Rosalind Chuang, from Stanford's Movement Disorders Center, and Dr. Grace Liang, from The Parkinson's Institute, Sunnyvale. All three speakers will give presentations tailored to family caregivers.

Dr. Poston will speak about what caregivers can do to help address cognitive, memory, and mood symptoms of PD and atypical parkinsonism disorders. Dr. Chuang will speak about what caregivers can do to help address motor and autonomic symptoms of PD and atypical parkinsonism disorders. And Dr. Liang will speak about advance care planning for PD and atypical parkinsonism families.

Throughout the day, there will be break-out sessions. Topics include care options, positive family communication, self-care, mindfulness-based care, the many roles caregivers play, unacknowledged grief, coping with dementia, paying for long-term care, and getting your affairs in order. Participants may select three sessions. (We suggest you join forces with other attendees to share notes.) Speakers include two social workers and an RN who facilitate PD caregiver support groups, Family Caregiver Alliance, UCSF, and more.

Our 2012 caregiver symposium got great reviews and we aim for even better reviews of our 2014 symposium. All of the 2014 symposium speakers and nearly all of the topics will be different from 2012.

What Is Included?

For caregivers, there will be a small registration fee -- $35 for early-bird registrants, and $50 thereafter. That includes the day's program, continental breakfast, and a hot lunch. Parking is free.

About Food. The organizers have been to many conferences where speakers talked about the need for good nutrition. We have found it odd that the food served at these same conferences is mostly sweet danishes for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Rest assured that the food we will serve is nutritious. Fresh fruit will be included in the continental breakfast. And there will be a delicious, hot lunch. At our 2012 caregiver symposium, the audience broke out in applause in appreciation for a sponsor paying for a wonderful lunch. While the speakers are all different for 2012, we plan on the same menu as it was well-received. Note that no food is served besides the continental breakfast and hot lunch.

Register Now as space is limited to the first 150 registrants. For family caregivers, the deadlines and fees are:

Are You an Exhibitor or Sponsor?

Exhibitor and Sponsor Registration - Now Available. Registration is open (as of May 23rd) for exhibitors and sponsors. Note that the fees and deadlines are different than listed for family members above. Given strong advance interest in supporting this symposium, we encourage businesses to meet the early-bird registration deadline (of 11pm PT on Friday, June 6th). Please contact Steven Russell [swrussell] with any questions.

Coming Soon...

Registration for Professionals. Registration will open on or about June 13th for professionals. We have applied through the Alzheimer's Association for CEUs. Stay tuned.

If You Are Interested...

In volunteering? We are looking for volunteers who can help out for the ENTIRE DAY. Volunteers need to report no later than 7:30am (by 7am if you want continental breakfast beforehand) and are free to go at 5pm. Registration is free for these day-long volunteers. Those wanting to volunteer should contact Lauren Stroshane [lstrosha] with any questions. (If you previously responded when we sent out the "Save the Date" message, no need to respond again.)

In receiving emails about future events: Join the "Stanford PD Info" email list. We send no more than four emails per month to this list.

In receiving emails of interest to PD caregivers: Join the "PD Caregiver" email list. We send as many emails as we think will be of interest to caregivers.